Getting Autism Legislation Passed—and Funded
April 28, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
So what do you do if your state passes autism legislation (as my state, New Jersey, did in September of 2007) and then it gets stalled by budget cuts—-when the bill gets passed but there’s no funding as it’s an austere buget year” ? In Florida, the Window of Opportunity Act was passed by the Senate last week—and today’s Palm Beach Post reports on the hurdles it now faces in the House:
State House leaders acknowledged Monday that the state doesn’t have the money to have Medicaid and Healthy Kids cover all Florida children with autism. But they still oppose the Senate plan that would immediately require private health insurers to cover autism treatment.
Instead, the House wants to “put a mechanism in place” to have autistic kids get coverage through Healthy Kids whenever the money becomes available.
According to Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, who headed a House task force on the issue, is proposing another bill, which would “only require insurers to provide autism coverage if the state could not come to an agreement with insurers in two years on how best to cover the children.” The current Senate-backed plan does not, Bean says, cover families with autistic children who “work for self-insured companies which make up about 43 percent of Floridians.”
A South Florida mother commented on an earlier post about the Florida bill that “it will also be a miracle if these bill pass. Similar ones have been introduced here before, only to die.” As I’m reading about the new autism legislation announced today by NJ Senator Robert Menendez, the Helping HANDS for Autism Act, I have her words in mind, and also that
“I for one am making calls to my local politicians to try to show my support.”
Hmmm.
So the public budget is not available, but disallow private coverage until public budget is available?
The state does realize that adult costs may very well be involved in the future, right?
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That ERISA bill is still in Congress, and I got an email today about these bills seeking co-sponsors,
Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities (FSAID)
Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) introduced the Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2007 (HR 2370) in the House and Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the companion bill, Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2008 (S 2743), in the Senate. Both of these bills would establish tax-exempt financial security accounts for individuals with intellectual disabilities and not jeopardize benefits.
I guess if the buck passing continues now, we had better start planning for the future. I have not looked yet to see how these compare with setting up trusts or other, since I am not a lawyer of any ilk. Just FYI.
thanks for this. I need to review each state’s legislation for insurance but do most cover mostly/only children and not adults who are still dependent on their parents, or on their parents’ insurance?
I haven’t done a close run-through recently, but the quickie is that the coverage varies, but many of the bills that I have seen run through adolescence, with one, Michigan? (don’t quote me), asking for coverage through 22.
But the short version is that these are not policies for adults. I think the intent is to establish baseline coverage for young children and to supplement that not covered by IDEA and/or Medicaid (not all states have Medicaid waivers/TEFRA).
House Bill Number 958 —legislation for insurance coverage for autistic children in Louisiana—was discussed today.
Hi Kristina,
I am still making my calls, hoping for something. But I am even less hopeful than before. The legislature ends this week. The insurance issue aside, the cuts this legislatrue is considering making to other programs for Floridians with disabilities is downright scary.
Politics is very complicated business. Maybe we should move to New Jersey, but my husband has tenure here!
Katherine
Hello..
The current research on Autism shows that a well-trained professional can diagnose Autism when a child is around 18-months old….!!!